* Pursuant to Fed. R. App. P. 43(c), Kenneth S. Apfel is substituted for

John J. Callahan, former Acting Commissioner of Social Security, as the

defendant in this action. 

** This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the

doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. The court

generally disfavors the citation of orders and judgments; nevertheless, an order

and judgment may be cited under the terms and conditions of 10th Cir. R. 36.3. 

F I L E D

United States Court of Appeals

Tenth Circuit

FEB 19 1998

PATRICK FISHER

Clerk

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT

TERESA Y. GURULE,

Plaintiff-Appellant,

v.

KENNETH S. APFEL, Commissioner,

Social Security Administration,*

Defendant-Appellee.

No. 97-5112

(D.C. No. 96-CV-157-W)

(N.D. Okla.)

ORDER AND JUDGMENT**

Before BALDOCK, EBEL, and MURPHY, Circuit Judges.

After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined

unanimously to grant the parties’ request for a decision on the briefs without oral
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argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(f) and 10th Cir. R. 34.1.9. The case is

therefore ordered submitted without oral argument.

Plaintiff appeals the district court’s decision upholding the Commissioner’s

denial of her application for disability benefits. Plaintiff asserted that she had

been disabled, since August 3, 1992, because of headaches and pain in her left

side, lower back and lower extremities. The administrative law judge (ALJ)

determined, at step four of the applicable five-step analysis, see 20 C.F.R.

§ 404.1520, that plaintiff remained capable of performing her past relevant work

in real estate sales and as a waitress. The Appeals Council denied review, making

the ALJ’s determination the Commissioner’s final decision.

This court reviews the Commissioner’s decision to determine only that he

applied the law correctly and that the record contains substantial evidence to

support the decision. See Bean v. Chater, 77 F.3d 1210, 1213 (10th Cir. 1995). 

At step four, the burden remains on plaintiff to establish that she cannot perform

her past relevant work. See Thompson v. Sullivan, 987 F.2d 1482, 1487 (10th

Cir. 1993). 

On appeal, plaintiff challenges the ALJ’s determination that plaintiff’s

complaints of disabling headaches were not credible. Credibility determinations

are the province of the ALJ and we will afford those determinations considerable

deference. See, e.g., James v. Chater, 96 F.3d 1341, 1342 (10th Cir. 1996). 
1 Our review of the record includes evidence plaintiff presented for the first

time to the Appeals Council. See O’Dell v. Shalala, 44 F.3d 855, 858, 859 (10th

Cir. 1994).

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Because the ALJ properly considered plaintiff’s complaints of disabling

headaches, see Luna v. Bowen, 834 F.2d 161, 163-66 (10th Cir. 1987), and

because the record1

 contains substantial evidence supporting the ALJ’s credibility

determination, see Winfrey v. Chater, 92 F.3d 1017, 1020 (10th Cir. 1996), we

affirm the denial of disability benefits. 

The judgment of the United States District Court for the Northern District

of Oklahoma is, therefore, AFFIRMED.

Entered for the Court

David M. Ebel

Circuit Judge